• September sees cumulative figure top 1 million mark
• YTD figure up 276% but still 25% below benchmark year 2018
• India emerges top source market YTD with 200,310 tourists, followed by Russia, the UK
• Chinese arrivals see improvement with Golden Week holidays

The month of September drew 111,938 tourists and Sri Lanka welcomed its one millionth visitor of the year on the 27th September 2023.

Over the first nine months of the year, arrivals reached 1.01 million, a remarkable rebound of 275.6% from the crisis-hit year of 2022, which saw only 29,802 arrivals. However, the performance remains 25% lower compared to the same period in the benchmark year of 2018. September figure is also the lowest since June’s 100,388. In July and August arrivals amounted to 143,039 and 136,405 respectively.

In September, India emerged as the leading tourist-generating market with 30,063 visitors, constituting 27% of the total arrivals. Following closely were China with 8,445 arrivals, the UK with 7,504, Germany with 7,231, and Russia with 7,163. Additionally, visitors from Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, France, and Canada contributed to the influx.

Source: https://www.ft.lk/top-story/September-draws-over-111-000-tourists-but-misses-monthly-target/26-753627